This invention pertains to portable circular saw guides and more particularly it pertains to circular saw guides which have universal saw mounting cradles, reversible guiding edges and rulers.
It can be difficult for a carpenter to carry a conventional table saw from one job site to another. This can be particularly difficult when the project involves the working on a roof or on other parts of a building requiring the transport of tools in stairs, in ladders or on scaffolding. This inconvenience with conventional table saws has created a need for a portable device that is compact, lightweight and that can be used to perform substantially the same work as can be done on a conventional table saw.
In the past, several circular saw guides have been developed and used with varying degrees of success. The known circular saw guides belong to two groups wherein the devices in each group have common characteristics. The main feature of the saw guides in the first group consists of an anchor device which attaches to the skid plate of a portable circular saw. A guiding edge is mounted on a stem which is telescopically movable in a socket mounted to the anchor device. The circular saw is used in a conventional manner but with the guiding edge following the straight edge on the panel being sawn. Examples of circular saw guides belonging to the first group are described and illustrated in the following documents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,940, issued on Dec. 12, 1978 to Josxc3xa9 K. Ong;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,089, issued on Aug. 9, 1983 to Mason E. Pease;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,608, issued on Dec. 16, 1986 to Gerhard Kuhlmann et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,061, issued on Jul. 30, 1991 to Timothy Bradbury et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,931, issued on Oct. 6, 1998 to Todd Cleveland, and
U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,450, issued on May 11, 1999 to Thomas P. James.
The second group of circular saw guides of the prior art is characterized by the mounting of the portable saw in a cradle which is movably supported or fixedly attached to a pair of rails. A guiding edge or the saw itself is movable along the rails so that the relative positions of the guiding edge and the saw are adjustable, for sawing a panel or a board at selected places. Examples of saw guides of the second group are illustrated and described in the following documents:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,434,514, issued on Mar. 25, 1969 to Charles E. McManama;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,649, issued on Apr. 12, 1977 to James R. Kloster;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,419, issued on Jan. 23, 1979 to Everett E. Chapin;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,762, issued on Dec. 9, 1980 to Kevin J. Winter;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,257, issued on Aug. 1, 1989 to Kenneth D. Moore;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,111, issued on Mar. 20, 1990 to Walter E. Noble;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,152, issued on Jan. 14, 1992 to Michael Collins et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,736, issued on Apr. 28, 1992 to James O. Albrecht, and
U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,161, issued on Jul. 13, 1999 to Robert M. Newell.
Although the circular saw guides of the prior art deserve undeniable merits, these devices are believed to be deficient in at least the features of being capable of accommodating various makes and models of circular saws, and being readily adjustable for use without having to measure the position of the saw blade relative to the guiding edge. Such lack of instant positioning means can lead to errors in sawing and can cause irreparable damage to expensive wood boards or panels.
As such, it will be appreciated that there continues to be a need for a new and improved circular saw guide which is readily usable with various models of saws, without having to measure using a measuring tape and laboriously adjust the position of the saw blade relative to the guiding edge.
The present invention provides a floating bench saw guide which has a compact configuration and a saw cradle in which the portable saw is readily positional for use without subjective measurement using a measuring tape.
Broadly, in accordance with one feature of the present invention, there is provided a floating bench saw guide for guiding a portable circular saw along a workpiece while sawing the workpiece. The floating bench saw guide comprises a cradle for retaining a portable circular saw, a saw plane across the cradle, and a guide lip movably affixed to the cradle. A pair of gage blocks are affixed to the cradle or to a structure adjacent the cradle. The gage blocks have a certain thickness and are positioned along the saw plane. The gage blocks define the saw plane. The provision of the gage blocks on the cradle is particularly advantageous for allowing the use of a straight edge such as a carpenter square for easily positioning the blade of a circular saw along the saw plane without having to use a measuring tape to measure the position of the saw blade within the cradle.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, a pair of spaced-apart parallel rails are affixed to the cradle. The rails have a common length of about thirty six inches and extend away from the saw plane. The guide lip is movably affixed to the rails and is reversible relative to the saw plane. Moreover, the guide lip overhangs its mountings to the rails such that it is positional relative to the saw plane over a distance ranging from about zero inch to about forty-eight inches from the saw plane. The floating bench saw guide is thereby relatively compact in size when the guide lip is positioned in a forward orientation nearest to the saw plane.
In accordance with yet another feature of the present invention, each rail has a ruler affixed thereto. A pointer is affixed to the guide lip and overhangs one of the rulers. The ruler on one rail has a graduation set which is a continuation of the graduation set on the other ruler. The pointer indicates the position of the guide lip relative to the saw plane whether the guide lip is positioned in a forward or reverse orientation.
In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, the guide lip is mounted to an intermediate position along the rails, and a router support member is removably mounted to the far ends of the rails relative to the saw plane. The router support member has a structure which allows its mounting over the cradle. The router support member has clamping means to retain a router over the cradle in place of a circular saw, such that the floating bench saw guide is usable with several carpentry tools.
Still another feature of the floating bench saw guide according to the present invention is that it is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consumer, thereby making such floating bench saw guide economically available to the public.
Other advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.